Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust has been awarded a four-year contract by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) West Yorkshire, acting on behalf of regional PCCs across Yorkshire and the Humber, to deliver regional healthcare and forensic services in Police Custody settings across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Following a competitive tender process, the Trust has been awarded a contract to provide a newly integrated and transformed service that supports and cares for people within Police Custody settings.

The Trust’s Police Custody Healthcare Team provides; physical assessment and treatment, substance misuse assessment and treatment, mental health assessments and assess fitness for people to be interviewed and/or detained. The team also take forensic samples and undertake blood screening for alcohol and drug levels.

Thea Stein, Chief Executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Many people who find themselves in a custodial setting have a range of emotional and physical issues. Our team offers safe, high quality holistic care in a complex environment and we are delighted to have been awarded this contract.”

Service innovations for the future will include a continued commitment to increasing and upskilling healthcare professionals and use of technology to connect the services across a very large geographic area.

Assistant Chief Constable, Angela Williams, said: “Having led this piece of work for over a year now, I am delighted at the service provision we have secured for all four Forces which will put high levels of medical care in place for our detainees. One cannot underestimate how important this medical service is, hence it has been a vigorous and lengthy procurement process, where all four Forces across Yorkshire and the Humber region have worked together.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "The continued provision of healthcare for those coming into police custody is an important service. I am pleased that the provision is now in place for the next 4 years making best use of new technology, skills and practices within custody environments."

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, which provides Health Visiting services to every child in Leeds aged 0-aged 5 years old, has welcomed the findings of a report by Healthwatch Leeds.

The report, published today, was a planned project in November 2017, to gain people’s views of the Health Visiting service and how it worked for them. Volunteers and staff from Healthwatch Leeds talked to 240 people about their experiences of clinics and breastfeeding groups across the city.

Overall, high levels of satisfaction were found, with 90% of respondents saying they understood what the service should provide and rating it as excellent or good. Most people said they knew who their health visitor was by name, but 1 in 10 said they were not sure who their health visitor was. Most respondents (89%) said they had received all the visits and contacts they should have done as part of what is known as the ‘Universal Offer’. This is an offer of 5 key visits a family should expect between a baby’s birth and school age and which is available nationally.

Debra Gill, Head of Service for Health Visiting said:

“Our team of 170 community nursery nurses and health visitors deliver the Healthy Child programme across Leeds and support around 50,000 babies. Such high levels of satisfaction are testament to the hard work of our professionals. We’re very pleased with the overall outcome but there is more still to do. We want every family to understand the role a health visitor can play in their lives and we want every contact we make to be the best that it can be. We’ll be looking in detail at the report recommendations, and working closely with Healthwatch Leeds, to build on the experiences of families across the city.”

Tanya Matilainen, CEO Healthwatch Leeds said:

“We have worked with both local people and the Leeds Community Health Trust staff to understand people’s experience of the service and bring those voices to influence. As well as the overall positive outcome, there are some recommendations for improvement. These actions should improve people’s experience further. The Trust is working with us on an action plan, which we will follow up later this year."

We are hosting a joint engagement session for local people with our partners; Healthwatch Leeds, Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust, Leeds City Council, Leeds Clinical Commissioning Groups and Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust.

This is the first time partners across Leeds have come together to try out this new method of collaborative engagement. There will be a number of quick-fire workshops on a range of topics to share with local people.

We will be asking for people’s views about our Patient Experience Pledge.

If you are interested in attending the event on Thursday 22nd February 2018, 10am-1pm in Leeds city centre please contact Healthwatch Leeds info@healthwatchleeds.co.uk or call 01138980035, places are limited.

The proposed site for a new £13m child and adolescent mental health unit for West Yorkshire has today been revealed as St Mary’s Hospital in Armley, Leeds.

The new unit was announced as one of 12 successful bids to receive NHS England capital funds in the Autumn Budget

The bid, led by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust on behalf of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Partnership, will see a purpose-built specialist community child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) unit support young people suffering complex mental illness.

There are currently eight general adolescent beds provided by Leeds Community Healthcare in Leeds. The new unit, to the west of the city will bring a significant increase - providing 18 specialist places and four psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) beds. This will see more young people being able to access specialist care closer to home, reducing the need for out of area treatment.

Thea Stein, CEO for Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Our ambition is to make sure that no child or young person within West Yorkshire goes out of area for treatment. This is better for them, their families and better for the local health and care economy.

“The next step will be to work closely with staff, patients, their families, the local community and wider partners to finalise plans and develop a modern, fit for purpose facility of which we can all be proud”.

Rob Webster, CEO for South West Yorkshire NHS Foundation Trust and West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership CEO Lead, said: “We are delighted that this much needed unit has been chosen to receive funding. This is firmly in line with our plans for children and young people’s mental health and shows the benefits of working together.

“We can now do two things - deliver joined up care in communities with NHS, council and voluntary and community organisation; and have the confidence that we can access the best hospital care possible in the right environment. This new unit will mean children and young people who require an inpatient bed will be able to get the care they need closer to their homes, making it easier for their family and carers to visit.”

Subject to business case approval from NHS England and planning it is hoped building work will begin early 2019.

A new £13million child and adolescent mental health unit is set to be built in Leeds (subject to business case approval) after it was announced as one of 12 successful bids to receive NHS England capital funds in the recent budget. Building work is expected to begin in 2018 once the preferred site has been confirmed with NHS England.

The successful bid, led by Leeds Community Health Care NHS Trust on behalf of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Partnership, will see a new purpose built specialist community child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) unit to support young people suffering complex mental illness, for example severe personality and eating disorders.

There are currently eight general adolescent beds which are provided by Leeds Community NHS Healthcare Trust in Leeds. This new unit will bring a significant increase and provide 18 specialist places and four psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) beds.

Thea Stein, CEO for Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said:

“Our ambition is to make sure that no child or young person within West Yorkshire goes out of area for treatment. This is better for them, their families and better for the local health and care economy.

Building this new unit supports both national and regional priorities - to reduce the area that children, young people and their families have to travel to receive specialist mental health care. A lot of work has taken place to review and better understand child and adolescent mental health services. Children and young people accessing high quality care, and, importantly, what needs to change is a priority to us all”.

Rory Deighton from Healthwatch in Kirklees said:

“People have been talking to Healthwatch organisations across the area about their children’s mental health ever since we started. It’s good to hear that the NHS is listening to the experiences of families, and investing in this important service”.

Rob Webster, CEO for South West Yorkshire NHS Foundation Trust and West Yorkshire and Harrogate, Health and Care Partnership CEO Lead said:

“We are delighted that this much needed unit has been chosen to receive funding. This is firmly in line with our plans for children and young people’s mental health and shows the benefits of working together. We can now do two things - deliver joined up care in communities with NHS, council and voluntary and community organisation; and have the confidence that we can access the best hospital care possible in the right environment. This new unit will mean children and young people who require an inpatient bed will be able to get the care they need closer to their homes, making it easier for their family and carers to visit”.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust has earned four nominations at an awards ceremony which recognises the finest achievements in the NHS.

The Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards have shone a light on the best work in the service for nearly 40 years and the 2017 ceremony takes place at the InterContinental O2 in London later this month.

Teams from Leeds Community Healthcare will be in the running, having been shortlisted in the face of competition from across the country.

In the Compassionate Patient Care category, the Trust has been nominated for both Outstanding Breast Feeding Standards and An Integrated Neighbourhood Team Approach to Improving Palliative Care for Patients and Carers.

Meanwhile Cardiac Service Clinical Lead Caroline Senior and Consultant Clinical Psychologist Sue Ranger are both shortlisted in the Clinical Leader of the Year category.

The Leeds Health and Care System’s Health Coaching approach, of which the Trust is a key partner, has also been nominated in the Improved Partnerships between Health and Local Government category.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Chief Executive Thea Stein said: “We are thrilled to have such strong representation at the HSJ Awards from across our Children’s, Adult and Specialist services.

“This is recognition of the hard work and innovative approach our staff undertake to provide the best possible care to the people of Leeds, from infants to the elderly, every single day. I wish all our nominees the very best of luck.”

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust has supported Occupational Therapy Week 2017 (#OTWeek2017) with a host of activity across the city.

The week has been running from Monday 6 November to Sunday 12 November and has sought to promote Occupational Therapy to the public.

On Wednesday, staff ran a popular interactive stall about the services Occupational Therapists can offer at Kirkgate Market in Leeds. Leeds Community Healthcare staff have also been encouraged to tell us what being an Occupational Therapist means to them with selfie boards posted on social media.

Meanwhile Occupational Therapists from across the city came together at a PAN Leeds 'Inspiring Change' event on Thursday morning.

Who are Occupational Therapists?

Occupational Therapists provide care to patients in their own homes, residential homes or in designated community bed bases. They work in partnership with them to identify personal treatment goals and help them begin to complete the daily activities or ‘occupations’ that matter to them.

Every week you will complete hundreds of activities without batting an eye, but for many patients gaining the skills, strength or education to feed themselves again, get dressed, or take a bath, is an important step to enable them to participate in daily life.

More than 52,000 school children across Leeds will be offered a free flu vaccination this winter in a bid to stamp out flu.

The vaccinations, in the form of a nasal spray, will be given to children by nurses from Leeds Community Health Care Immunisation team. The nasal spray will be offered to children in reception class, year 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Emma Williams, Immunisation Nurse at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, is part of the team delivering the vaccines across 255 schools. She said: “Flu can be a very unpleasant illness for children and for some children if they catch it, it can result in a serious illness. The vaccination will provide protection to children and also help reduce the chance of flu spreading to others including vulnerable people, older people and babies. I would urge people to take up the offer of protecting their child in this way.”

Children who get flu have the same symptoms as adults including fever, chills, aching muscles, headache, stuffy nose, dry cough and sore throat. Some children develop a very high fever or complications of flu such bronchitis or pneumonia and may need hospital treatment. Only children whose parents sign a consent form distributed by schools will be given the nasal spray.

Sisters Tara Connor aged 9, Alyssa Connor aged 7 and Orlagh Connor aged 4 all received their vaccine at Our Lady's Catholic Primary School. Tara Connor said: “It’s important to have it so I don’t get poorly. It’s not scary it just tickles.”

The initiative is part of the National Healthy Child Flu Vaccination Programme.

Mrs Stephanie Flaherty, Head Teacher at Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, said: “If children have the nasal spray it means they have less of a chance of being poorly over winter. Flu can spread quickly in the classroom. This vaccine not only protects children, but it helps ensure they stay in school and do not miss out on their education.”

Not all children are recommended to receive the nasal spray vaccine, including those with a severe egg allergy, severe asthma or an allergy to any of the vaccine ingredients. These children may be able to receive the injectable flu vaccine instead. In these cases, parents are recommended to consult with their GP.

Any parents or guardians wanting further information about the flu immunisation programme for children across Leeds can contact Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Immunisation team on 0113 8555224.

The cast of groundbreaking new play Zoetrope (Picture credit: Anthony Robling)

A moving play which tackles young people’s mental health has been given added authenticity by patients from Leeds Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

Zoetrope opens at West Yorkshire Playhouse in November and follows the journey of seven very different youngsters as they navigate their way through mental health difficulties.

In preparation for their performance, Zoetrope’s cast have been in discussion with young people from Leeds Community Healthcare’s CAMHS service. CAMHS provides services for young people under 18 when mental health issues get in the way of daily life.

Since July this year CAMHS young people and staff have met the cast, read through scripts, and developed an understanding of what goes into putting on a production, as well as sharing their own insights and experiences.

Vandhna Sharma, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Practitioner, said: “Being involved has given young people a real sense of confidence and helped them realise how their knowledge and experience made them the experts.

“Our CAMHS young people have loved learning about theatre production and were touched by how polite and considerate the Zoetrope cast were. In particular when they shared their experiences of mental health and the support they received, which helped provide authenticity and depth to the Zoetrope characters.

“The audience get to see young people navigate their way through mental health difficulties and support processes from their perspective, as well as understand the impact it has on every area of their life.”

The play serves as a timely reminder of why raising the profile of mental health is so crucial, coming after World Mental Health Day on October 10.

CAMHS staff will run a stall on show nights with information about CAMHS, additional support services available in Leeds, and ways to maintain good mental health.

West Yorkshire Playhouse Youth Theatre Director, and director of Zoetrope, Gemma Woffinden said: “At West Yorkshire Playhouse we strive to make theatre that gives young people a platform to express their ideas about the world with real integrity.

“By working with CAMHS our young actors have gained an insight into the processes, job roles and most importantly first hand experiences of the challenges faced by young people suffering with mental health issues.

“It has been a truly valuable experience working with the CAMHS staff and patients in rehearsals.”

You can watch Zoetrope at West Yorkshire Playhouse between Thursday November 2 and Saturday November 4.

Times and ticket details can be found here. You can find out how to access support from Leeds CAMHS by visiting the website here. Follow CAMHS on Facebook: Leeds CAMHS.

Leeds Community Healthcare rated ‘Good’ in latest CQC assessment

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the results of its follow-up inspection of Leeds Community Healthcare (LCH). It confirms that significant improvements have been made and the overall rating for the Trust is now ‘Good’.

Thea Stein, Chief Executive of Leeds Community Healthcare, said today:

“We’re delighted that the CQC has rated our services as overall ‘Good’ as a result of its follow-up inspection. The report finds we have successfully addressed many issues which required improvement in 2014.”

The report, based on a visit during January - February 2017, found the Trust had successfully addressed the issues which required improvement since the CQC undertook its comprehensive review in November 2014.

The findings of the follow-up inspection include:

Good staff engagement particularly in adult and inpatient services

Good patient feedback, confirmed through surveys.

Patients treated with dignity and compassion, and involved in the development of their care

Services promoting independence and supporting patients to move to self-care.

A good incident reporting culture.

Outstanding practice

The report mentions several areas of outstanding practice, particularly within community health services for adults:

Individual preferences and needs were always reflected.

Excellent care delivered by highly motivated staff.

Patients said that staff went the extra mile and the care they received exceeded their expectations.

Areas of individual good practice included:

The development of an award-winning choir, to support patients with their speech and language skills and provide social opportunities.

Senior therapists seeing musculoskeletal (MSK) and rehabilitation patients at their initial assessment and trialling alternative models of care to support primary care.

A ‘patient flow’ project aimed at reducing a patient’s length of stay on an inpatient unit.

Thea added: “Our rating is testament to the hard work and determination of colleagues across corporate and clinical disciplines to demonstrate high quality care on a daily basis. We are pleased too, that that we were able to evidence this during a time of unprecedented demand across services.

“We’re particularly proud that adult services were rated overall ‘Outstanding’ for caring. This is a well-earned accolade.

“The report does highlight areas where further work is needed. These are all areas of which we are aware. As the inspection proves, we have a strong track record in making significant improvements and we are already well underway with work in these areas. They will remain a high priority in the coming year.”

The theme of this year’s event is ‘working in partnership and innovation’. As well as presenting our annual report and accounts we’ll have presentations from our three Business Units bringing to life their Plans on a Page for 2017-18 (you can see these here), and following the formal event you’re also invited to join us for afternoon tea.

Date: 14 September 2017

Time: 2–3:30pm

Venue: Thackray Medical Museum, 141 Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7LN

We very much look forward to welcoming you on the day.

If you have any questions about this event or would like to attend, please call Heather on 0113 2208512 or email lch.comms@nhs.net.

NHS Improvement (NHSI) has confirmed the appointment of Professor Ian Lewis as Non-executive Director of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

Prof Lewis is a senior clinician who was Executive Medical Director of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool between 2011 and 2015, having previously been a Divisional Medical Director and Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust.

He also co-chaired the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum – an independent group of professionals who advised the government, which operated between 2012 and 2016.

Prof Lewis has lived in Leeds for more than 30 years and served as a Trustee of The Candlelighters Trust (1985-2011), Martin House Children’s Hospice (1990-2010) and Bone Cancer Research Trust (2006-present) within the charitable sector.

Speaking on his appointment to the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Board, Prof Lewis said: “I’m very excited to be joining such a forward-looking Trust. Although most of my clinical career has been in hospitals, I’m absolutely convinced that if we are going to solve the challenges facing the NHS and improve people’s health, then services based in the community that focus on excellent care and early intervention are absolutely key.

“I’m really focused on improving services and outcomes through quality improvement and evidence. That has got to be my number one priority. My clinical experience has also taught me that teams and their wellbeing is at the heart of improvement.”

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Chair Neil Franklin OBE added: “We are very fortunate to welcome someone with Ian’s wealth of experience to the Trust.

“He has a strong track record of clinical leadership, commitment to patients and promotion of excellent health care services and I look forward to working with him.”

Non-executive appointments to NHS Trusts made by the NHS Improvement are subject to the Governance Code for Public Appointments.

Professor Ian Lewis has been appointed from 1 July 2017 for two years. He has declared no political activity.

Parents in Leeds are being urged to consider their babies’ mental health as part of a national campaign.

This week (June 12-16) is National Infant Mental Health Awareness Week which highlights the importance of the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, in parent-baby bonding.

While the term Infant Mental Health may sound strange – people may wonder how mental health issues can affect those so young – the term refers to a baby’s emotional wellbeing.

There are more than 10,000 babies born in Leeds every year and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Infant Mental Health Service offers a wide range of support, including working directly with families.

If a baby feels safe and secure and experiences the world as a consistent, loving place, they will build a healthy brain and grow into a confident person who enjoys happy relationships.

Sue Ranger, Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Infant Mental Health, said: “A big challenge for parents and carers is to spend time watching their particular baby and just thinking about what the baby is communicating.

“This includes how the baby may be feeling, how active the baby is, how responsive they are and how alert they are. Babies can tell us when they feel uncomfortable; whether they are fussing and whether they are wriggling and squirming.

“Those kinds of behaviours, along with things like breathing and facial expression are all part of the picture.”

All new parents in Leeds are issued with a self-help guide called ‘Understanding Your Baby’ that includes reference to a traffic light system which helps them know when their baby wants attention and when they need a rest.

The system tells parents what behaviour means it’s ‘green for go’, what to watch out for when it’s ‘amber for caution’ and when it is definitely ‘red for stop’.

Sue said: “If the baby’s experience of the world is of parents and carers who understand them and can respond in an appropriate way, in a timely way, then those babies will experience the world as a safe, predictable and reliable place and those experiences will support their wellbeing and development.

“A baby who feels understood and gets the right care at the right time is a baby who will feel more content, safe and secure. This is the basis of good infant mental health.”

Sue added: “Awareness of the importance of infant mental health in Leeds is increasing and we are doing a lot of work around awareness and training.

“Thinking about infant mental health is important in the prevention of significant mental health difficulties later on in life.

“The foundations of healthy relationships, self-esteem and resilience in the face of life’s challenges are laid down in the earliest weeks and months of life.”

They have also developed an award-winning mobile app aimed at parents and parents-to-be called Baby Buddy, which is free to download.

Tips to help support your baby’s emotional wellbeing:

• Talk to your baby – and listen to what they are telling you! Make sure they can see your face and you can see theirs as much as possible.

• Take time to get to know your baby. Watch them and think about how they are feeling.

• Respond to your baby when they cry and reassure them. They are letting you know they need you. Providing comfort and care when your baby cries won’t ‘spoil’ them. In fact the opposite is true. If you respond promptly when your baby cries in the early weeks of life they will cry less, not more, as they get older.

• Try to keep your baby physically close when they are very young. Skin-to-skin contact and cuddles help your baby feel safe and secure. Baby carriers can help with this.

• Don’t expect to be perfect (no parent can be!). Your baby just needs you to do your best.

Infant Mental Health Myths:

Babies don’t do anything except eat, sleep and poo!

It might be easy to think that, but this is far from the truth! The first two years of life are when babies’ brains are growing the fastest. Lots of connections are being made in their brain every second, and the experiences that your baby has will determine which connections are made.

Because your baby doesn’t talk to you, you don’t need to talk to them

Babies can recognise your voice and those who you are closest to from before they are born! Hearing your voice will help them to feel comforted and secure. Also, hearing different words will also help them when the time does come to begin talking

Babies who get lots of attention will become spoilt and demanding

As with all relationships, it’s important to help your baby to feel safe and secure. If you respond to your baby with care and attention when they need you to, they will feel secure and because of this will often be less demanding

‘Clinginess’ should be discouraged

Babies go through phases, as part of their normal, healthy development, where they may want to be closer to you to feel safe. It’s important that you respond to these signals from your baby to provide comfort and support. Responding to your baby in this way won’t make your baby more ‘clingy’!

Lots of stimulation is always good for babies

Babies need support from their caregiver to regulate themselves, otherwise they might become overloaded. Recognising when things might be getting a bit too much, or that your baby might need a change of pace, can help to prevent this. There are lots of ways that babies communicate their needs, the ‘Understanding you Baby’ booklet, given to you by your Health Visitor, has lots of useful information.

Dance teachers in Leeds are being introduced to an exciting new partnership aimed at helping students suffering from eating disorders at a workshop.

The Northern School of Contemporary Dance has teamed up with Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust to run a special session for teachers and providers to raise awareness of the condition and highlight what help and support is available.

The event, organised by the School and the NHS Trust’s newly commissioned Specialist Eating Disorder Service for Children and Adolescents will also focus on the different types of eating disorders, and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Dr Julie Franklin, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “We’re keen to work with groups of young people where the pressures and demands of their sport means that they’re more likely to struggle with their relationship with food and body image. Eating disorders such as Anorexia and Bulimia are complex, but with the right intervention at the right time, most young people who develop them can make a full recovery.

“This workshop provides a unique opportunity for dance teachers to better understand the nature of eating disorders in this specialist group of young people, what causes them, and find out more about what specialist help and support is now available.”

National prevalence rates suggest that 0.5 per-cent of the female population aged between 15 and 18 will develop anorexia, equating to 100 young people in Leeds.

Georgia Cooper, Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance said, “The NSCD has developed innovative ways of working with their elite performers to help them to develop a healthy relationship with food and their bodies. We’re hoping that by collaborating and bringing in the clinical expertise of the Eating Disorders Service, we can raise awareness of eating disorders amongst the dance community, offer expert advice and a prompt intervention where required.”

Anybody wanting to contact the CAMHS Eating Disorder Service can do so on 0113 8434468.

A local NHS Trust is encouraging smokers to stub out the habit and enjoy the extra cash in their pockets.

A ten a day smoker who decides to quit could save £1,200 per year- working out as a six per-cent of their annual salary based on UK averages.

And with tobacco prices set to rise even further, experts from Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust say there’s never been a better time to quit.

Rachel Northen from Leeds Stop Smoking Service said, “Today not only marks National No Smoking Day, but it is also Budget Day, a timely reminder to smokers of not only the obvious health dangers, but the financial impacts of the habit.

“Stopping smoking can be extremely challenging, but we want the people of Leeds to know that help is at hand at one of our 40 clinics across the city. Our expert staff use a combination of stop smoking treatments and support to break habits and deal with cravings, making you four times more likely to be successful in quitting than if you try on your own.”

Mark Scott from Rodley quit smoking six weeks ago after attending an NHS Stop Smoking drop in clinic in Armley and is already noticing both financial and health benefits.

Mark said, “I’ve been to the clinic three times before but I wasn’t fully ready to stop smoking. I felt a bit embarrassed about going back again, but the advisors were very welcoming. I’ve been going to the gym and when I was smoking I used to get breathless which limited how much I could do. Since quitting it’s much easier to keep going and I’m feeling much fitter and healthier. I had my carbon monoxide levels checked at the stop smoking clinic and seeing them reduce was really motivating.

“I felt like a prisoner to cigarettes. I spent every day thinking about when I could next have one and felt stressed if I couldn’t smoke. It’s great to be free of that feeling, and I’ve saved over £360 since quitting so a nice holiday is not far away.”

Smoking rates have declined rapidly in England with latest figures showing a fall of more than a third from 27 per-cent of adults smoking in 1998 to 16.9 per-cent in 2015. Despite this, Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest adult smoking rate in the country, with 20 per-cent of adults in the region smoking.

Leeds Stop Smoking Service also offers free support and advice to pregnant woman and their families, people with mental health problems and young people. There are a range of options for accessing the support, including one to one sessions, group sessions, evening drop in clinics, telephone support and home visits. An interpreter service can also be provided if required.

This week the Leeds Dying Matters Partnership was announced as a joint winner of the National Council for Palliative Care award for Dying Matters Awareness Initiative of the Year.

This award recognises events and activities that raise awareness of the importance of talking about dying, death and bereavement. It's about demystifying death so that the topic is no longer a taboo subject and people feel able to plan for their death and discuss their end of life wishes.

The important work of Leeds Dying Matters Awareness week – coordinated citywide and including our very own Palliative Care team – was deservedly recognised.

At Leeds Community Healthcare Trust our Palliative and End of Life Care team supports staff within neighbourhood teams and care homes to deliver high quality palliative and end of life care. The team has made a significant impact in the last year in improving palliative care in community settings to ensure that patients’ wishes at end of life are met wherever possible. Since their roles were introduced in 2015 their hard work and leadership has been evidenced by an increase in patients achieving their prefered place of death and more staff being trained and supported to deliver high quality palliative care.

In fact, the great work of this team was also recognised last Decemeber as part of our staff awards - the Thank You Event 2016. Take a look at their story, and the work of our other wonderful teams, as they were crowned winners of our Patient Care award.

It’s was time to say "Thanks a Bunch" again this week (22 February) as Chief Executive Thea Stein travelled to Middleton Health Centre to surprise Senior Nurse June Wilson (centre).

Back in December June led an effort in the Middleton Neighbourhood team to provide Christmas hampers for patients most in need in the local community. The team rose to the challenge and eight lovely hampers were delivered before the Christmas break (see our Facebook post from 23 December 2016). Sarah Knowlson, Community Matron, wanted to recognise June for inspiring the team and going above and beyond for patients during a very busy winter period.

A visibly surprised June told us that the hampers were very well received and she was even sent a letter from a patient who said what a difference it had made to know people cared about her. June isn’t stopping there though, and explained that the team are aiming for bigger and better in December 2017; spreading more hampers and more joy in the community. So watch this space!

Don't forget - you can keep up with our monthly visits in the moment by following us on Twitter and Facebook.

Meet the Team: CAMHS Eating Disorder Service

This week (27 Feb – 5 March) is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, a national initiative highlighting the issue of eating disorders and raising awareness of what help and support is available.

A recent report by Beat estimates that more than 725,000 people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder. Although many eating disorders develop during adolescence, it’s not unusual for people to develop eating disorders earlier or later in life. There are reports of cases in children as young as 6 and some research reports cases developing in women in their 70’s.

Here at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, we provide a specialist Community Eating Disorder Service for under 18’s as part of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). This service offers early intervention and provides prompt assessment and treatment for young people and families experiencing eating disorders.

Dr Julie Franklin, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Leeds CAMHS Eating Disorder Service said, “Assessment and treatment is provided mainly on an outpatient basis by a highly specialist multidisciplinary team, which includes psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, dieticians, mental health nurses, CAMHS practitioners and family therapists. Following a referral, a family will be offered a comprehensive assessment. Based on the outcome of the assessment, possible interventions include NICE compliant evidence based treatments including family based treatment, CBT-e, individual approaches as well as ongoing physical monitoring and regular reviews.”

The service, which is based at The Reginald Centre in Chapeltown, operates out of clinics across the city including Bramley and Beeston. As a team they work closely with all LCH CAMHS teams (community teams, transitions, inpatients and Community Outreach Service). They also work directly with schools, as well as providing advice and consultation to other NHS colleagues.

Referrals, which are made via GPs or Mindmate SPA (Single Point of Access), are up 30% since 2015.

Mark Hodgson, Community Dietician explains, “Eating disorders such as Anorexia and Bulimia are multifactorial, and can be influenced by a combination of both biological and environmental factors including parent’s attitude towards food, advertising on television, and more and more commonly, social media.”

To mark National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, the team is supporting Beat’s ‘Sock It to Eating Disorders’ campaign.

Lucy Rigley, Assistant Psycologist said, “As well as donning our silliest socks, we’ll be pinning up cut-out socks across our bases and asking people to write messages of support on them, as well as sharing questionnaires and feedback forms.”

Kate Burns, Team Manager added, “The sooner someone gets the treatment they need for their eating disorder, the more likely they are to make a full recovery.

“The first step to recovery is seeking help. You can do this by speaking to your GP who can make a referral to the CAMHS specialist Eating Disorders Service through Leeds Mindmate Single Point of Access.”

A choir giving voice to people with neurological conditions has been boosted by a donation from a local Parkinson’s UK branch.

The choir performing at the 2016 Leeds Waterfront Festival

Approximately 2,000 people in Leeds are thought to have the condition and every hour someone in the UK is told they have Parkinson’s disease. For many the symptoms experienced include affected movement and speech, but the disease also causes other non-motor symptoms including pain and depression.

But Giving Voice, a choir for adults with neurological conditions and their carers, is using song to reinvigorate the lives of those hit by illness. The group, set up by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, is run by Speech and Language Therapist Wendy Neill and funded by the Trust charity. It provides an opportunity to socialise and practice some old favourites for people across West Yorkshire living with conditions such as strokes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and dementia.

The positive effects of singing as a form of therapy for people with speech or memory issues have been well documented and recent research at the University of Aberdeen found strong evidence that singing improves the speech of people with Parkinson’s. Choir members have seen several health benefits from attending weekly sessions including improved voice, breathing, mood and memory and a recent donation of £1000 by the Leeds Parkinson’s UK branch will allow this important work to continue.

Choir member Bob Smith was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 58 and is the Treasurer at the local Parkinson’s UK branch.

He said: “When you are diagnosed with a condition like Parkinson’s it can be easy to lose confidence and your mood can suffer. There’s about seven of us in the choir with the condition and although my voice is very weak I do find that singing helps it.

It’s not just about the singing though, meeting every week to rehearse provides a good space to get together and share your problems with a group of people who understand exactly how you feel. This money means the group can carry on meeting every week and performing across the city – and hopefully we’ll continue to welcome new members too.”

The choir are always eager to welcome new people and continue to work to make the group as inclusive as possible for people with neurological conditions and their carers. For further information or if you would like to join the choir, email givingvoice@outlook.com or call 07944669313. The group meet every Wednesday at Holy Trinity Church between 6.30pm and 8pm.

People across Leeds are being encouraged to ditch the stigma and have a conversation about their mental health as part of a national campaign.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust is supporting Time to Talk Day on 2 February, an annual campaign which aims to get as many people as possible talking about mental health.

The Leeds Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service is jointly provided by the Trust along with voluntary sector partners Touchstone, Northpoint Wellbeing and Community Links and offers people with common mental health problems access to support, without the need to visit their GP.

The organisations work in partnership to provide assessments and a range of treatments including depression recovery groups, online therapy, and stress control courses.

Ian*, who completed a stress control course with the service said:

“Before visiting my GP my life had been in utter turmoil, I felt that I couldn’t talk to anyone and generally felt ashamed about how I was feeling. My wife made an appointment for me to talk to my Doctor who referred me to the IAPT service.

Now that I have completed the course I feel I can face the world again and also have the tools to keep my condition at bay.”

“Ian’s story is very common. In fact, one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year, but many are too afraid to talk about it.

When your mental health is suffering your first instinct is often to keep quiet and say ‘I’m fine’. It takes a great deal of courage to be open about your mental wellbeing but for many it can be the first real step to confronting depression, low mood, anxiety and more.”

If you need further support the Leeds IAPT service is able to offer a whole range of different therapies and treatments to suit your needs; whether this is as part of a group, on a one to one basis, or even online.

SallyAnne offers five top tips to help manage stress and your mood.

Stress affects everybody, but high levels of stress or low mood can affect our ability to cope with the demands of everyday life. So it’s important that we try to look after ourselves by taking steps to manage our mental health.

Focus on the things that you can change

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed if we have a lot happening in our lives. We naturally focus on the negative things in life such as the things we can't do. Try to focus on the things that you can do something about. This will help you feel more in control.

Let yourself have fun

It can be easy to only do the things that we need to do in life and we forget about the pleasurable things. Don't let stress get in the way of the what you enjoy, arrange to see that friend that you have not seen for a while; pick that hobby back up that you have neglected or do something that you have always wanted to do.

Talk about it

We all need help from time to time, talk to a friend about what you are going through so you can get some support from others.

Face your fears

It is a natural, human response to avoid things that are uncomfortable, but we know that avoidance makes stress worse in the long term so look at the things in your life that you are avoiding and start to tackle them by facing your fears.

Get moving

Exercise is a natural ‘antidepressant’, try to make small changes to be more active such as taking the stairs rather than the lift or go for a brisk walk.

If you need further help managing stress or your mood the IAPT service offers courses to learn coping strategies and techniques to help manage your mental health more effectively. You can refer yourself through the website www.leedsiapt.com or call 0113 8434388 to arrange a telephone assessment.

A local NHS Trust has received national recognition for its campaign to fight flu.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Staff Flu campaign was bolstered by the support of Leeds United.

Whites boss Garry Monk joined first team players Ronaldo Vieira, Matt Grimes and Stuart Dallas to launch the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s annual Staff Flu Campaign at their Thorp Arch training complex back in October.

Since then 76.8 per cent of the Trust’s frontline staff have had their flu vaccine- more than any other Community Trust in the country according to figures from NHS Employers.

A special flu fighter team toured health centres across the city giving staff the chance to be vaccinated in their place of work.

Dave Hall, Lead Infection Prevention Nurse at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “This is an amazing achievement given the fact our staff work in over 40 bases across the city. It’s particularly important for staff to have the flu vaccine if they are coming into contact with patients and their families. Flu immunisation is one of the most effective ways we can reduce harm from flu and the pressures on health and social care services that it can cause.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at Leeds united for helping raise awareness of our campaign.”

Leeds United Chief Executive Ben Mansford said, "Leeds United is proud to support the fantastic work of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust and it’s great to see them top of the league. We know only too well that achieving the best results is a team effort, and will continue to work hard to follow them to the top of the table too.”

The figures are reflected nationally, with flu vaccination levels among NHS staff in England reaching almost 62 per cent, a record high.

After overindulging at Christmas, many of us will make the New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, eat healthier and exercise more. It may seem like a mammoth task, but here, Josh Rhodes, a Personal Lifestyle Coach for Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust passes on his top healthy living tips, and explains what help and support is available in the city to help you achieve your goals.

Josh Rhodes is a Personal Lifestyle Coach for Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Healthy Living Service. For the past three and a half years, Josh has been helping to improve the health and wellbeing of people who attend one-on-one clinics run by the Trust by advising and supporting on issues such as weight management, healthy eating, physical activity, stopping smoking and reducing alcohol intake. In addition to these personalised sessions, Josh also engages with members of the public through manning Healthy Lifestyle Service stalls at local events and GP surgeries and health centres.

“My role as a Personal Lifestyle Coach is very interesting and varied”, Josh said.

“When new clients come into the Trust’s Healthy Lifestyle clinics wanting to improve their health, they’re often a bit nervous and worried that they won’t be successful. It’s a real pleasure to get to know them and see them growing in confidence and motivation over the next few weeks.”

“When a new client arrives, we initially do an assessment with them to find out more about their lifestyle and habits. We then discuss what their goals are, what barriers they may face and how we can support them. Clients will usually choose something that they’d like to change in the following week. It’s great to set goals, so long as you set yourself up for success and not failure.”

“Seeing the happiness in people’s faces when they reach their goal, whether it’s stopping smoking or fitting into their favourite trousers for the first time in five years makes it a really rewarding job.”

Josh added, “After your referral, clients can get weekly support for a period of 12 weeks. We very much focus on working together to change behaviours and make goals realistic, achievable and sustainable.”

Josh’s Top Tips for a Healthy 2017

Cut Back on Fat

Swap sausages or burgers for turkey without the skin or turkey mince

Cut off visible fat from meat and skin poultry before cooking. Drain off fat after cooking.

Try grilling meat rather than frying

Switch to oven chips rather than deep frying them.

Try fingers of pitta bread or raw vegetables with lower fat dips such as salsa or reduced fat hummus instead of your usual bag of crisps

Stopping Smoking

When preparing to stop smoking, try smoking outside only. Keep your cigarettes in the boot of your car to avoid reaching for one without thinking

Think about the times you most want to smoke and make of plan of what you could do instead, such as brushing teeth or playing with the children after a meal

Get rid of any left-over cigarettes or tobacco once you’ve quit. Keeping it ‘just in case’ increases the risk that you’ll have one in a weak moment

Put the money you’ll be saving to one side and treat yourself. A 20 a day smoker may spend nearly £3,000 a year on cigarettes, what would you spend this on instead?

Make your home and car smokefree. This will benefit you, your family and your pets.

A stop smoking treatment such as patches, gum or tablets, can help make stopping smoking more comfortable. These are available on prescription.

Anybody over the age of eighteen can self-refer into the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Healthy Lifestyle Service. Sessions run on a one-to-one basis over a period of twelve weeks. There are nearly 20 clinics across the city, which run every day of the week. Most clinics are free- only charges for certain stop-smoking prescriptions apply for people not exempt from prescription charges.

An NHS practice that provides primary care to the homeless and vulnerably housed people of Leeds has been rated as ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

York Street Health Practice, which is run by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, was awarded the status following an inspection by the care regulator in October.

The practice works with people who are homeless and in the asylum system to offer primary care, mental health and a support service. There is also an alcohol and drug service (in partnership with Forward Leeds), and work with the city’s street sex workers in partnership with Basis.

Inspectors praised the practice’s effectiveness, leadership and responsiveness, and also rated it highly for its levels of safety and compassion.

Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice at the CQC said, “The term ‘ground-breaking’ is often used, but in this case it is right and proper. Not only does this practice serve its established patient list, but it goes the extra mile.

“I can say it was one of the best CQC has visited. It demonstrates what can be achieved with excellent leadership and cooperation with local agencies. This is a thoroughly outstanding practice, delivering high quality care to a diverse patient population. I congratulate them on their ‘outstanding’ rating and would urge any other practice seeking to understand how it can operate in the changing arena of general practice to learn from this report.”

The practice works closely with the city’s hospitals and A&E departments to identify people who are homeless and unregistered with a GP to support them on the wards and create good discharge plans and care.

Thea Stein, Chief Executive of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “I am delighted that our York Street Practice has been awarded outstanding by the CQC. The practice is a sign of compassionate care and effective clinical practice for the most marginalised in our city.”

York Street was also the first GP practice nationally to receive the 2015 City of Sanctuary Health Stream Award, which recognises the important role played by the health services in the lives and well- being of asylum seekers.

Amanda Wilkinson, Head of Service at York Street Health Practice added, “I feel proud and privileged to work with a dedicated team who provide an excellent service to the most vulnerable people in Leeds.”

The announcement is further good news following the Children’s Business Unit being awarded an overall ‘good’ in services that were scrutinised last year.

Team of the Year Winner: Spinefit+

It was over to St George's Centre this morning as the Spinefit+ service gathered together for what they believed to be an impromptu meeting. Little did they know Chief Exec Thea, Chair Neil, and Trust Member Tim Gilling were waiting around the corner to declare them the first winner of our two Teams of the Year!

The team were nominated by Clinical Pathway Lead Mandy Young for the way, during a period of extensive change, they have never lost sight of their overall aim to enable clients to live a better life with their pain.

Jakera Patel, Administrator said:

"We’re a small but very supportive team. We all look out for each other – whether it’s getting a tissue for a patient who is crying or being there for each other, there is a real sense of everyone in it together. The service is often the last line for a lot of patients who have tried everything else to manage their pain, so to see people leave with a smile on their face after attending an appointment is a good feeling."

The whole team were visibly delighted and the clinical staff were keen to ensure their administration colleagues were equally recognised as the 'unsung heroes' of the team.

Team of the Year Winner: School Immunisations Service

Our last - but by no means least - Thank You Event award took us back to St Mary’s this afternoon where Deputy Director of Nursing Steph Lawrence and Non-Executive Director Elaine Taylor-Whilde dropped in on the School Immunisations Service.

Our second Team of the Year winner delivers the NHS England immunisation programme to 47 high schools. But it was their work last year with Public Health England to contain an outbreak of Hepatitis A that impressed our judges and saw 97% of pupils and teachers in the targeted school vaccinated over five days. It’s no wonder the team have the second highest immunisation rate in England.

Team Leader Michelle Kite said "We all pull together when we need to. We all muck in and get the job done."

Operational Lead for East Northeast School Nurse Teams and Immunisation team Anne Connor told us:

“The team endeavour to ensure that all NHS England targets are met and have offered community clinics to children and young people who for any reason did not receive their immunisation. They are a very supportive team and when I asked them to help with the HEP A immunisation programme over a weekend they all offered.

They are professionals in the delivery of the service and always ask schools for evaluations to identify any areas for improvement.”

The Thank You Event 2016 is now underway! Keep an eye out as the Senior Team will be visiting bases across the Trust all week saying ‘thank you’ to teams and colleagues judged to be shining examples of our magnificent behaviours.

Colleague of the Year Winner: Jill Farrally

What are the best kind of meetings? The one’s which are interrupted by one of our Directors to present you with a Thank You Event award of course! Jill Farrally, Business Change Lead for Adult Services thought she was in the middle of a routine one-to-one at Stockdale House, but instead was left ‘gobsmacked’ after being presented with the Colleague of the Year award.

A deserving recipient of the award, Jill helps to support teams in her unit through periods of organisational change, monitors and assists projects at service level, and identifies and helps solve performance issues. But it’s been her tireless work over the past year with the Neighbourhood Nights Service that mostly impressed our judging panel.

Not only did she oversee the transition and training from SystmOne to EPR, but also created new Standard Operating Procedures, reviewed and standardised ways of working, helped to introduce e-referrals, improve the handover from day to night teams, and even found time to support staff in the move to Westgate and implement the three hub working across the city.

Jill was presented her award by Bryan Machin (Executive Director of Finance and Resources), Neil Franklin (Chair) and Trust member Peter Webster who commented, “I’ve been involved in the Thank You Event judging process , so it’s great to follow this through and meet one of our winners.”

After regaining her composure Jill said, “Firstly a big thank you to Liz Hindmarsh our Business Manager for Adult Services for nominating me. Thank you to all of my colleagues in the unit also, they’re what I get up for each morning and are an absolute joy to work with. We all work together through the challenges, and it’s so rewarding to see the changes we’ve made coming out the other side.”

Improving Services Highly Commended: Emma Gregory, Clinical Lead for EPR and New Ways of Working

Reception staff may have been fooled into thinking that Ant and Dec were arriving at Beeston Hill Heath Centre this morning, but it was in fact the Trust's very own Bryan Machin and Neil Franklin.

Our Director of Finance Bryan and Chair Neil interrupted one meeting to suprise two of our Thank You Event award winners. Our first, Clinical Lead Emma Gregory, was nominated for her clinical leadership during the implementation of Electronic Patient Record (EPR) and New Ways of Working (NWOW) in neighbourhood teams.

In nominating Emma, General Manager of Adult Service Megan Rowlands and Clinical Head of Adult Services Julie Mountain told us that "she has a positive, flexible and can do approach. She works really well with clinical, non-clinical and corporate colleagues to implement change [...] She encourages all of us to maintain our own high standards."

Project of the Year Winner: The EPR Project Team

Beeston Hill Health Centre was a hive of Thank You Event activity this morning.

After congratulating colleague Emma Gregory on being awarded the Highly Commended Improving Services Award, the Electronic Patient Record Project team were then told "but there's more..." by Director of Finance Bryan Machin.

Many colleagues will already be familiar with the work of the team, who have been dynamically delivering the roll-out of EPR in line with business demands and constant changes. Their hard work was rewarded as our "unsung heroes" were given the Project of the Year winner award.

The team were nominated twice, and in her nomination Director of Operations Sam Prince said:

"The team quietly and efficiently improves the working lives of many of the Trust’s staff offering group and individual support so that clinical staff are appropriately equipped to provide the best patient care with information available at the point of care.

They are an excellent bunch of problem solvers and will work closely with each team to find ways to make the system work around the service – they do not go for a one size fits all approach!"

Improving Services Award Winner: Iona Taylor and the Adult Nutrition and Dietetic Team

Our senior team continued to spread the joy this morning as Director of Operations Sam Prince and Non-Executive Director Tony Dearden visited Parkside Community Health Centre.

Dietetic Clinical Lead Iona Taylor and her team were more than surprised as their meeting had some last minute arrivals...

Their work was nominated by Quality Improvement Facilitator Debbie Flintham who wanted to recognise the way they have continued to improve and innovate the service through three recent projects led by Iona.

A visibily moved Iona thanked the whole team and told the room "When I have an idea you don’t beat me down, you just go with it”.

“I love making change happen. It’s about having an attitude that says yes. It’s about taking some calculated risks and being with people who support you and are okay with that.”

We were also joined by Trust member and patient Mark Parry who assisted in judging this year's awards and wanted to take part in presenting. Mark told us: "I just wanted to get involved because I'm keen to make sure people are recognised for the good they do, as opposed to the negative that we often see in the NHS."

Patient Care Award Winner: Palliative and End of Life Care Team

We finished Day 3 of the Thank You Event with a trip to Wheatfields Hospice to surprise our Palliative and End of Life Care team.

The team were nominated twice for the impact they have made improving Palliative and End of Life Care in community settings and ensuring that, wherever possible, patients' wishes at end of life are met.

Asked about their work, the group said "it's rewarding knowing you've done the best you can for a patient."

"Our role has changed and we have developed a new policy and training so that holistic care is at the heart of what we do."

Sarah McDermott, Acting Palliative Care Lead, and one of the colleagues who nominated the team told the group "it's a pleasure to manage you all."

The Thank You Event 2016 is now underway! Our Senior Team will be visiting bases across the Trust all week saying ‘thank you’ to teams and colleagues judged to be shining examples of our magnificent staff behaviours.

Patient Care Highly Commended: CICU

Day two of our Thank You Event has taken us to St James’ Hospital and the Community Intermediate Care Unit (CICU), a 24-bed adult inpatient unit helping to stop admissions into hospital and providing rehabilitation. Sarah Cottier works there as a sister and nominated her fabulous colleagues for a Patient Care Award for helping to improve patient care.

After posing for photos with Chief Executive Thea Stein and Chair Neil Franklin, she told us, “In order to further improve the care of adults in the unit, our team has worked hard to embed a safety culture by introducing daily safety briefings and a better education programme making sure all staff are competent in the reduction of pressure ulcers and falls. All staff are becoming more competent in documentation, and we’ve also introduced a monthly audit.

“We all challenge each other, there’s good communication and everybody takes part. Rhian is also a really good leader!”

Standing next to Sarah, unit manager Rhian Wheater responded, “Without the hard work of everyone in the team we wouldn’t have succeeded, so a big thank you to you all!”

Leader of the Year Highly Commended: Nina Davies

It was smiles all round this lunchtime, as Director of Finance Bryan Machin and Chair Neil Franklin interrupted a cleverly orchestrated podiatry lunch.

Our lucky recipient was Nina Davies, Biomechanics Specialist Lead Podiatrist who was given our Highly Commended Leader of the Year award.

Bryan told Nina and her fellow podiatrists "what struck me was not just the work she does inside the Trust but the desire to go out to other Trusts and bring back good ideas and practice - it's exactly what we need."

When cheered by her colleagues to give a speech Nina told us "it feels great to be recognised by the team.

I work with children and love treating my patients and seeing the smiles on their little faces. Because I work both nationally and locally the transfer of learning is great. Leeds is leading the way!"

The Thank You Event 2016 is now underway! Our Senior Team will be visiting bases across the Trust all week saying ‘thank you’ to teams and colleagues judged to be shining examples of our magnificent staff behaviours.

Leader of the Year Winner: Janet Addison

It was surprises all round this morning as Janet Addison, Head of Service for CAMHS and Speech and Language Therapy, was crowned winner of our Leader of the Year award.

Our Chief Executive and Chair crashed Janet's meeting to present her with a hamper of goodies, a Thank You cake and a certificate.

Put forward by colleagues who were desperate to see Janet's face on the day, their nomination said 'she is a role model who takes responsibility, keeps her promises and is prepared to say what she thinks.'

Janet invited her team members to join her celebration and told us 'it's never about one person - it's about the amazing team'.

And her team is what she loves most about her role, as she told us 'it's really lovely to work with such dedicated teams in both Speech and Language Therapy and CAMHS.'

Colleague of the Year Highly Commended: Victoria Douglas

Our party arrived back at Stockdale House this afternoon to meet the Highly Commended Colleague of the Year.

Head of Business Intelligence Victoria Douglas may have been expecting a 121 at 1.30pm this afternoon, but she got a bit more than she bargained for!

Victoria was nominated by Liz Hindmarsh who wanted to thank her and the team for their 'invaluable support' to the Adult Business Unit. Liz said 'her work and insight will have direct improvements on patient care.'

Colleagues across Leeds might not consider Stockdale House one of our most lively bases, but Thea made sure to gather the crowds to cheer Victoria on.

When quizzed on the best thing about her role, Victoria told us that 'as well as the amazing people I work with, I really enjoy the challenge and variation of the role. It keeps me occupied and gives me lots of puzzles to solve!'

KPMG appointed as Trust’s Auditors from April 2017

In line with national guidance on the procurement of external auditors for NHS Trusts, an Auditor Appointment Panel (comprising three non-executive directors) was established by the Trust Board to oversee the appointment process and ultimately to make a recommendation to the Board as to the preferred external audit arrangements from 1 April 2017.

The panel has now concluded the procurement work which was supported by the North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative; this included a formal tender process under an agreed framework, reviewing the written responses submitted by the four bidders and a face to face meeting with the interested parties.

The written responses were initially examined, clarification of any issues was sought at the face to face sessions and final evaluations (based on key requirements, organisational capability and experience and pricing) were made for each of the bidders

The Auditor Appointment Panel reached a decision on the preferred option and recommended the Trust Board appoint KPMG LLP as the Trust’s external auditors from 1 April 2017 for a period of 3 years with an optional extension of 1 plus 1 years. The Trust Board accepted the Panel’s advice and the award was made on 23 November 2016.

You may have heard of our Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Team, but do you know what they do? Mop up sick? Pick up used needles perhaps? Think again!

As a Trust, we’re committed to managing and preventing healthcare associated infections such as MRSA and C Diff. That’s why we have a dedicated Infection Prevention and Control team who are on hand to offer both staff and patients specialist advice and effective preventive control measures to stop infections spreading.

The team, based in Chapeltown, are made up of both nurses and admin staff who all have an interest in micro-biology, having worked in other areas of acute and community nursing.

Dave Hall, Lead Infection Prevention Nurse said, “We all have a variety of different skills that complement each other very well. The team are all extremely passionate for the job, and care for the health and wellbeing of both staff and patients. We’re involved with all services in the Trust, be them adult, children’s or specialist such as police custody.”

The team also work closely with other healthcare providers across the city not only providing advice and support, but to share evidence, develop and introduce policies and carry out training.

Dave explains, “Every day is different, situations can arise at any time- one minute we could be checking emails in the office, the next we’re dealing with an outbreak on the other side of the city. We have many roles colleagues might not be aware of, such as helping our estates team manage our health centres and clinics, and even advising on what food is served in our inpatient units.”

“But we all agree, as well as the variety of the role, the best part of this job is the team. I work with some amazing, talented and passionate people, whose personalities and skill sets complement each other perfectly.”

(You can keep up to date with the work of the Infection Prevention and Control Team by following them on Twitter @LCH_IPC)

Dear all

Just as no person is an island, neither is any organisation. I write this on the morning of the American election result, and it feels compelling to write about some of the issues raised today for us as a community of 3,000 people working together and serving the city of Leeds and, for some of our services, Yorkshire and Humber. Whoever had won, we know that what we have been left with is a campaign that unleashed more hate speech, rhetoric about minority groups (in particular Muslims, Mexicans and women) and fear than any election most people can remember.

I don’t know what it must be like waking up today in America if you are Mexican, Muslim, or simply different in some way, but I expect it’s not a comfortable feeling. As a Jewish gay woman, I know a bit about prejudice and being an outsider, but I am also white, middle class and successful – all factors which protect me, and which I can hide behind if I want to. For many people with disabilities, from minority ethnic groups, from the trans community, that isn’t an option.

So why am I writing about this here in a blog? We are not a political organisation and there is no space for political rhetoric in a neutral NHS organisation. And that is precisely my point. We are here to serve everyone equally, and we are here as a community that works together to support each other openly and honestly. Hatred and prejudice has no place in the NHS, and no place in LCH, and today seems like a good day to reaffirm that clearly.

I’ve talked before in my blogs and in face to face meetings with staff about my deep commitment to our vision, values and behaviours, and how they are central to how we work together and how we get through challenging times. My belief that if we hold true to them, we have a strength to survive and thrive even under pressure. At our heart is our vision is to provide the best possible care to every community we serve. One of our values is to treat everyone as an individual and one of our seven behaviours is to care for one another. After Brexit I reminded all our staff that there is no place for any discrimination of any sort at LCH, and that we would support staff who experienced this from the public or from other staff. Today seems a good day again to remind people here about our vision, values and behaviours that increasingly define who we are.

It’s an oft used quote but I feel moved to share it again; “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has”. Well I don’t think we can change the world, but we can change ourselves, and we can make our working lives the best it can possibly be for everyone who works here.

Information Governance (IG) is the way the NHS handles all of its information, in particular the personal and sensitive information relating to patients and employees. It provides framework to ensure that personal information is dealt with securely, efficiently and legally. The penalties for breaking data protection can be significant.

Ensuring our staff and clinical leaders are suitably equipped to manage this important area of work is a key priority for LCH, that’s why we’re running a ‘Don’t Ignore IG’ Week highlighting to staff the structures in place to deal with the different rules regarding how data is handled.

Without information, the Trust would not be able to manage individual patients and staff, plan day to day activities, manage the budget, develop services, monitor performance or satisfy the bodies that audit us, such as NHSLA and the Care Quality Commission.

The Trust has a duty to assure the public that any information we hold that could identify any individual, for example a service user, staff member, carer or member of the public, is in safe hands.

Information governance enables us to ensure that information we hold is protected against theft and damage and that it is accurate and reliable enough for the purposes for which it is used.

NHS Codes of Practice and legal obligations can be found on the NHS Digital website.

We offer support and advice to staff on lots of issues including:

- Data Protection responsibilities

- Access to Information

- Freedom of Information

- Information Security

- Records Management

- Additional Training

- The use of your own personal information by the Trust or others

LCH Staff: The information Governance team is based at Stockdale House. You can contact them for advice and guidance on any issue relating to FOI.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust has kicked off its staff flu campaign with the help of staff and players from Leeds United.

Head Coach Garry Monk and first team players Ronaldo Vieira, Matt Grimes and Stuart Dallas were joined at their Thorp Arch training complex by nurses from the trust to launch the annual campaign.

The Trust is encouraging all frontline staff to have the flu jab to protect themselves, family and patients across Leeds.

Dave Hall, Lead Infection Prevention Nurse at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “Quality is at the heart of our approach to care delivery at the Trust. This is one of the reasons the flu jab is offered every year to all of our front line teams. It is particularly important for staff to have the flu vaccine if they are coming into contact with patients. Flu immunisation is one of the most effective ways we can reduce harm from flu and the pressures on health and social care services that it can cause.”

Last year the Trust’s flu vaccine uptake was the second best for community health trusts nationally and this year they hope to go one better. A special flu fighter team will be touring health centres across the city from October giving staff the chance to be vaccinated in their place of work.

Leeds United Head Coach Garry Monk said, "Leeds United is proud to support the fantastic work of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust. We know only too well that achieving the best results is a team effort.

“We hope that by giving our backing to the campaign, the Trust is finally able to become the most vaccinated Community Trust in the country."

The trust is also part of the national NHS Flu Fighter staff vaccination campaign which supports NHS trusts with staff flu campaigns.

Electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, e-cigs or vapours- call them what you will, their popularity has dramatically increased over the past few years. If you’re looking to quit this New Year, this stop smoking aid could really help. From what's in them to where you can use them, our Healthy Lifestyle Practitioner Sarah Holbrey answers your most common questions.

(E-cigarettes aren't currently available on NHS prescription but they can be bought in pharmacies and other retail outlets)

What are they?

Despite the name, they're not cigarettes and they don’t burn any tobacco. Instead, these battery-powered devices heat up an ‘e-liquid’ made up of nicotine, glycerol, flavourings and water that users inhale.

Are they safer than smoking?

E-cigarettes are around 95% safer than smoking tobacco. It’s important that smokers switching to e-cigarettes are aware that different e-liquids contain various levels of nicotine, so they can find levels that will satisfy their cravings. Although nicotine is addictive, it doesn’t cause all the damaging health effects associated with smoking tobacco, which has over 4000 chemicals.

Will they help me quit smoking?

E-cigarettes have become the most popular quitting aid in the past few years, overtaking traditional forms of treatment such as nicotine patches. National data from 2014-15 showed that using an e-cigarette alongside support from an NHS stop smoking service had some of the highest quit rates.

Can I use them indoors in public places?

The use of e-cigarettes in public places is not regulated nationally, though bans are in place in some establishments. Therefore, it’s best to check whether you can use yours indoors or not.

Is their vapour harmful to bystanders?

E-cigarettes release tiny amounts of nicotine into the environment, and no health risks to bystanders (for example passive vaping) have been identified.

Are there different types of e-cigarettes?

E-cigarettes come in a variety of shapes, designs and functions. Early models on the market were made to look like a cigarette, whilst the newer models look similar to pens, or can have a refillable tank.

Who uses them?

According to the latest data, about 2.6 million people in the UK use e-cigarettes. Of these, around two thirds are current smokers, with most of the remaining third being used by ex-smokers. There is, as yet, no data to support the fear that non-smokers are beginning to use e-cigarettes as a gateway to conventional cigarettes.

How much do they cost?

Prices vary according to the type of device you use- for example £20 for one of the earlier models, or over £60 for one of the more advanced new ones. After the initial investment, users notice a significant saving as e-liquids cost a fraction of the price of tobacco. It's recommended anybody thinking of buying an e-cigarette goes to a reputable retailer that specialises in them and can offer advice.

Are there safety problems whilst charging them?

There have been concerns about potential fire risk caused by the batteries in e-cigarettes during charging. The general safety advice is not to use unapproved electrical chargers, and to unplug the device once fully charged.

Want to quit smoking?

Leeds NHS Stop Smoking Service is a free service open to anyone who would like to stop smoking. Research shows that you are far more likely to be successful in stopping smoking if you combine both treatment and specialist help from us than if you try willpower alone.

We run a variety of sessions, with over 40 clinics across Leeds which include groups, one-to-ones and drop-ins. The sessions provide information about the different types of treatment available, help you to plan and prepare for your quit day and also give expert advice and encouragement whilst you try to stop smoking. You’ll also have your carbon monoxide levels tested before and after you stop.

For more information on what we offer or to make an appointment, please get in touch via:

A local NHS Trust is encouraging staff to take a selfie for Safeguarding as part of an upcoming awareness week.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust are holding a Safeguarding Awareness Week from Monday 19 September, and have been asking as many staff as possible to share their snaps to show their support in protecting the city’s vulnerable adults and children from neglect.

Sharon Thomas, Specialist Nurse for Adult Safeguarding at Leeds Community NHS Trust said, “Everybody, regardless of age, colour or background has the right to live their lives free from abuse and neglect, but sadly this isn’t always the case. Abuse can take many forms- physical, sexual and psychological to name a few, and want our staff to know the Trust has an expert and dedicated Safeguarding Team there to support them in their work in the community.

“As well as having some fun along the way, the focus of the week is to raise the profile of safeguarding by bringing healthcare professionals working across a range of sectors along with members of the public together to promote learning and development around the subject so we can make the lives of vulnerable people in our city safer.”

Just over eight per-cent of women and four per-cent of men were estimated to have experienced domestic abuse in 2014/15, equivalent to an estimated 1.3 million female and 600,000 male victims.

The Trust will be holding a series of drop-in sessions at health centres across the city, giving staff the chance to meet the Safeguarding Team and learn more about their role within the NHS and work with other agencies and organisations. There will also be the chance to brush up on the latest Safeguarding processes and procedures and obtain take away guidance and contact details.

To promote the week-long event, the Trust also held a twiddlemuff knitting competition, and have arranged a sponsored Alzheimer’s memory walk later in the month.

Approaching a year after deployment, Lisa Baxby, Early Start Manager and Bernadette Rainford, Health Visitor from the Middleton Health Visiting Team reflect on the benefits of introducing TPP SystmOne to Health Visiting Services within Leeds Community Healthcare Trust.

The Challenge

There were a number of key drivers behind the deployment of The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) SystmOne Community solution into Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust. These included improving productivity, record keeping, freeing up organisational estates, increasing efficiency to release time to care, and raising the quality of care and services through the introduction of electronic patient records.The 18 Health Visiting Teams in Leeds Community Services provide care for 0 — 5 year old children. The journey has included a significant change in process, transitioning from paper and family based information to recording individual child specific electronic documentation to support over 50,000 children across Leeds.

Key Benefits

- Efficiency Ability to document, find and capture patient information at the point of care or in multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings has released staff time enabling greater productivity in patient management. Trust wide, due to the ability to instantly document into the record within MDT meeting, there is the potential to save 3,640 hours annually. Remote working, reduces travel expenses and staff time traveling. For example in some teams mileage costs have reduced by up to 50% . Agile working has allowed staff more flexibility in how and where they wish to work, for example, swapping the distractions of the busy office for home working. This has also given a positive consequence in improved parking availability at office bases.- Acceptable/Patient Centred Realtime access to a more complete and accurate patient record, including instant referral and letter communications facilitates clinical decision making and allows prompt response to patient queries.- Effectiveness Increased compliance with national targets, through the introduction of streamlined electronic processes. For example, the proportion of new births seen within 10-14 days has increased from 38.5% to 79.3% over 6 months (September 15 to March 16). Through greater visibility of workload, the ability to reprioritise, transfer and action the work of absent staff and better manage workloads has improved performance and reduced delays. Agile working has also seen an increase in job satisfaction and importantly a reduction in stress levels, with the expectation that sickness rates will reduce.- Safety Key patient information is more up to date, for example, contact details, and the electronic record is legible and succinct. These safer standards of record keeping provide benefits to; patients, a recommendation of the Francis Report, staff and the organisation, improving professionalism and regulatory compliance as well as being a safer place to work.

Implementation / Deployment Overview

As part of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT), TPP SystmOne Community solution was deployed at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust to support the care and management of children within the Early Start Service.SystmOne Community solution was deployed to 280 clinical and non-clinical users within 18 geographical teams, over a 2 month period in June and July 2015.Six months prior to deployment, the service alongside a business analyst, SystmOne developer and staff representatives met weekly to review current process and documentation. This enabled the development of paper-lite and streamlined future work processes, and the creation of digital core contact templates.SystmOne trainers provided a series of full day training sessions for 3 or 4 teams at the same time. The service also developed a handbook for staff to guide them along the new processes within SystmOne. The deployment was rolled out team by team and on-site support was provided directly from SystmOne trainers for one week after ‘go live’.To fully support agile working, SystmOne Mobile was also implemented through a combination of 4G and WiFi connectivity. Users can access an ‘offline’ mode in the Mobile functionality to support working where connectivity is unavailable or unpredictable. Its use however has been mixed with staff predominantly accessing and inputting into the live system.

Lessons Learned

- It takes time to define the current ways of working in order to prepare templates and processes for ‘go live’. Involve multiple staff where possible to support this preparation and definition work.- Ensure that appropriate and reliable hardware and IT support is identified to support the service in remote working- To aid the implementation of new processes, with a new system: Create a user guide that combines process steps with system instructions Avoid SystmOne training in the modules of Community and Mobile at the same time Stagger the roll out of changing processes, giving the new system around 6 months to bed in, before deploying mobile working- Switching from a family based record, to an individual patient record involves increased data input into multiple records. This increases the time spent record keeping as well as the need for attention to detail when adding information.

Future Plans

The Continuing Strategic Direction of Travel-Continue the roll out of agile working, with full deployment across the Health Visiting service by the end of July 2016-Continue the rationalisation in estates, as office space is freed up from an increase in mobile working as well as the reduction in paper recording and storage. This will help the Trust to realise a key objective of cash releasing savings through the decommissioning of desktop devices and recouping of software licences as well as a reduction in the need for offsite storage-Further increase the richness of patient information available to clinicians, by linking in SystmOne with the Leeds Care Record, a city wide initiative to share patient information to improve the care of patients

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s School Nursing Service has launched a Single Point of Access (SPA) hub, replacing all existing referral points to provide a quicker and more streamlined way of accessing services.

Sam Prince, executive director of operations at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “After a successful pilot which saw quicker response times, a more streamlined working process and improved caller experience, the Trust is delighted that we are now able to offer a single point of access into our School Nursing Service. This new system should be of reassurance to parents and carers that their child’s healthcare issues will be dealt with in a timely and efficient manner.”

The School Nursing Service works with school-aged children attending Leeds state schools or living in Leeds, their parents or carers, other health professionals, education staff other agencies to promote the health and wellbeing of children when required.

All referrals and enquiries received by the hub are assessed by both administrative and clinical staff, so callers can have a timely conversation which is relevant to their needs.

To make a referral or enquiry into the Single Point of Access hub call 0113 8435219 or email securely at snscentralemail@nhs.net. Lines are open 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday.

People in Leeds are being encouraged to kick unhealthy habits to reduce their risk of developing diabetes.

As part of National Diabetes Week 2016, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust is promoting the benefits of clean living to both existing diabetes suffers and non-sufferers.

Rachel Northen, team leader at the NHS-run Leeds Healthy Living Services said, “Whilst Type 1 diabetes is hereditary and cannot be prevented, up to 58 per cent of cases of Type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented by making simple changes in our everyday lives.

“Stopping smoking, eating more healthily and cutting down on alcohol consumption can improve the health of those living with diabetes, and reduce the risk of developing diabetes related complications in the future. We want people to know that they are not alone when making these changes and our expert clinics are there to help support them make these healthier steps.”

There are 3.5million people in the UK who have been diagnosed with diabetes, with a further 549,000 who have the condition without knowing. A further 4,500 people are diagnosed with the condition each week according to Diabetes UK.

Self-referral clinics run across the city with a range of appointment times available. Most clinics are free to attend with no need to go through your GP.

For more information or to book your place call 0800 1694219 or click here.

A student nurse, based at a custody suite in Normanton, has become one of the first to complete a nursing placement based in custody.

Leah Hodsman, from Malton, North Yorkshire, undertook the placement at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust (LCHNT), which runs community services throughout Yorkshire including nursing at a number of custody suites. It is one of the first times that a student nurse has ever been placed in what is a little known aspect of the nursing profession.

Leah explains: “I had a fantastic time on this placement; this is an area of nursing that I’ve developed a keen interest in so I was delighted to be offered the chance to experience first-hand what it was like. It felt like an even greater opportunity when I realised I was one of the first in the country to experience this kind of placement.”

Leah is a student at The University of Leeds and whilst studying for her nursing degree, student nurses go on a number of placements, and Leah is adamant this was the best on her course.

She said: “I felt like I was given a lot of responsibility and handled the challenges of working as a nurse in custody well, I was always supervised but I got an enormous amount out of the placement and gained some incredibly valuable experiences. I’ve found my passion and I feel like I will come back and work in a custody suite once I’ve got enough experience under my belt.”

Leah’s responsibilities included assessments when members of the public come into custody suites, particularly for alcohol and drug dependent cases. Nurses in custody suites do initial assessments to see if they can be treated in the suite itself or whether the case is severe enough to warrant medical attention in a hospital.

Leah explains: “It is an incredible environment to work in, you never know who is going to come through the door or what problems they will present with, you get cases with people who are drunk or who are on drugs and it is our job to administer relevant treatment for minor injuries, the administration of medicine and dressing and gluing where appropriate. I remember one case where a gentleman was being particularly aggressive towards me, I stayed calm and used by temperament to get through to them and they allowed me to treat them. For me that was a watershed moment, I gained so much confidence from being able to build a rapport with him.”

Whilst on placements, student nurses have mentors and Leah’s mentor was Sam Smith who was full of praise for her. She said: “I see Leah as my prodigy! It was fantastic to have her on this placement. She built some great relationships with the people we were treating, they trusted her completely and Leah got them to open up to her. Sometimes we see people ‘at their worst’ when they are high on drugs or drunk and she was able to cope with that extremely well.”

Jo Lay, Link Lecturer from the University of Leeds, said:” I feel that this placement was a great example of partnership working between the University and Leeds Community Healthcare and resulted in a fantastic learning experience for Leah with outstanding mentorship from Sam.”

Leah is looking forward to her first nursing post with LCHNT and hopes to return to work in custody suite nursing in a few years.

Robert Terry knew all about the health risks and expense of his 20-a-day habit, but it wasn’t until his nine-year-old daughter made a heartfelt plea after learning about the impacts of smoking at school that he decided to seek help quitting for good. Five months later he’s feeling healthier and wealthier thanks to his local NHS Stop Smoking drop-in clinic.

“As soon as my daughter Isabelle told me she didn’t want me to die as a result of smoking, I knew I wanted to quit for good. I’d tried quitting before using willpower and stop smoking aids but ended up feeling grumpy. Cutting down didn’t work either- I was soon back smoking what I was before. It got much easier once I started going to the clinic for regular support.”Robert Terry Pic.jpg42 year-old Robert who started attending weekly Leeds Stop Smoking Service sessions at his local clinic in Crossgates in October, found the service, run by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, convenient, friendly and non-judgemental.

“It was reassuring to know that I was seeing experienced NHS Stop Smoking advisors, who were both friendly and supportive, so I felt comfortable going to the clinic. Doing my carbon monoxide reading every week helped with motivation and the leaflets and discussion showed me that habits and triggers were my main challenge, rather than the physical addiction.“I found that getting support made all the difference. It’s a great feeling when you reach your goal and I feel really happy knowing that my daughter is so proud of me.”

Every year over 100,000 smokers in the UK die of smoking related diseases, with Yorkshire and the Humber having the highest adult smoking rates in the country, with 20 per-cent of adults in the region smoking. Despite this, during 2014-2015 Leeds Stop Smoking Service helped 1587 adults in the city quit.

Julie Clarkson, stop smoking specialist from Leeds Stop Smoking Service said, “Stopping smoking can be extremely challenging, but we want the people of Leeds to know that help is easily at hand at one of our 40 clinics across the city.“Our expert staff use a combination of stop smoking treatments and support to break habits and deal with cravings, making you four times more likely to be successful in quitting than if you try on your own. No matter how long you’ve been smoking, whether you’ve tried to quit before or have never tried, we can provide support that really works.”

The service also offers free support and advice to pregnant woman and their families, people with mental health problems and young people. There are a range of options for accessing the support, including one to one sessions, group sessions, evening drop in clinics, telephone support and home visits. An interpreter service can also be provided if required.

From April, a new campaign is set to hit local communities in the inner south and east of the city to encourage more people to access Leeds Stop Smoking Service. The campaign is being led by NHS Leeds South and East Clinical Commissioning Group, which has a higher percentage of smokers than the Leeds average – as much as 34 per-cent in some areas.

Working in conjunction with marketing agency Magpie and community health organisation Health for All, the CCG has been gaining the views of local people to help develop the campaign. This is in response to a study by Leeds Beckett University that found the vast majority of smokers want to quit, but many don’t know what the service offers or where to access it.

The campaign is set to launch in early April.

For more information on the Leeds Stop Smoking Service, call 0800 169 4219, text SMOKEFREE to 60066 or click here.

As part of its Winter Warmth Campaign, Leeds Community Healthcare Trust is supporting the city’s most vulnerable with its ‘Walking on Air’ initiative. Launched on the 14 December, at St George’s Crypt Homeless Shelter in the City Centre, the initiative sees NHS foot health experts delivering basic foot care, education and issuing foot-care packs to those who might not otherwise know how to access support.

Lynda Dexter, Specialist Podiatrist said:

“The idea came from working with vulnerable client groups in the past. Often clients tell us they are ‘walking on air’ after they have received podiatry treatment. It is essential that people seek treatment at the early stages to reduce further foot complications and today is about starting a conversation with vulnerable people in our city, so they know where to go for further help and support for this and other health issues.”

The launch event was opened by Councillor Bill Urry, Leeds City Council Member with responsibility for homelessness who said:

This initiative brings us another step towards our ambition that health and social care partners should work together more and more closely. Our aim is for the health of the poorest to increase the quickest. This is just one example of how an innovative approach is helping to improve access to health care services for those most in need. It is a vital part of the often unseen work that so many people do in partnership, to mitigate health problems for those who most need help.”

The ‘Waking on Air initiative will also visit city based charities the Joanna Project, The Refugee Service and York Street Health Practice over the coming week to provide foot health support to other vulnerable groups.

'The Waking on Air’ Initiative is a working partnership between Leeds Community Healthcare Trust’s Podiatry Service and its York Street Health Practice, which provides primary care to the homeless and vulnerably housed people of Leeds. Its foot care packs are funded by the Leeds Community Healthcare Charity , which provides additional funding to enhance NHS care. For further information about the charity, or if you would like to make a financial donation, please contact Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Membership and Involvement Team 0113 220 8596 or lchcharity@nhs.net

NHS Trust invites members of the public to board meeting

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust is inviting all members of the public to their next board meeting on Friday 7 February 2014. The trust would like to give the public an opportunity to gain an insight into what is going on in their local community NHS trust.

Items on the agenda include a review of the trust’s performance in the last month; a review of the trust’s Assurance Framework, a report from the chief executive, a review from a patient on the Expert Patients Programme Tutors and questions from members of the public.

Key information and decisions from the board meeting will be tweeted live from the trust’s official twitter account @lchnhstrust using the hashtag #lchboard.

The meeting will be held from 9.00am until approximately 12.10pm and it will take place at Shine, Harehills Road, Leeds, LS8 5HS.

Prior notice of questions from the public must be given to Laura Parsons, assistant board secretary, by email to Laura.Parsons2@nhs.net or telephone 0113 220 8523.

For more information including the board papers and a full agenda please click here.

The deadline to have your say on Leeds Community Healthcare’s service change proposals is fast approaching. We really want to hear from as many people as possible to find out what they think about the proposals.

These include our overall approach to the location of our services, and specific proposals about:

Adult Dietetics

Propose to reduce where clinics are provided, from 30 locations to 15 locations across Leeds.

Cardiac Rehab

Propose to reduce where clinics are provided, from 6 leisure centres to 4 leisure centres.

Children’s Newborn Hearing

Propose to move the clinics in health centres to hospital sites.

Children’s Speech and Language Therapy

Propose to move the clinics in health centres to hospital sites.

Continence, Urology and Colorectal Services

Propose to reduce where clinics are provided, from 14 locations to 10 locations across the city.

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT)

Propose to reduce where clinics are provided, from 54 locations to 22 locations across Leeds.

Podiatry

Propose to reduce where clinics are provided, from 25 locations to 19 locations across Leeds.

To help us identify if our plans will achieve what we need them to do, and how we can best implement any changes to minimise the impact on anyone affected, we want to work with you – our patients, carers, public members, partners and stakeholders. Information, updates and feedback is available on our webpage.

To have your say on the proposals please find copies of our surveys in your local health centre, or fill out the online version by no later than Thursday 5 November 2015.

We want to gather the views of as many people as possible who are interested in these changes, so do please forward the information onto family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. If you are part of a group who would like an opportunity to talk about this face-to-face, or if you have questions or comments about the engagement process itself, please contact the Membership and Involvement Team on 0113 2208551.

A speech and language therapist from Leeds has collected a national award in recognition of her work with a patient choir.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) presented Wendy Neill from Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust with a ‘Giving Voice Award’ at a ceremony at Warwick University on Tuesday.

The award recognises her efforts in raising awareness of the speech and language therapy profession in the city after founding the Leeds Giving Voice Choir last year.

The choir, made up of almost 40 trust service users with neurological conditions and their carers, has performed at a variety of venues across the city including Leeds Town Hall and a variety of local shopping centres.

Speaking after receiving her award, Wendy said, “'As a Speech and Language Therapist I am passionate about giving people a voice. The choir members are an inspiration and it’s rewarding to see the members come together, rehearse and perform.

“I find the choir a rewarding activity and I am proud of what we have achieved in such a small time. To have the endorsement and recognition from my professional body is fantastic.”

The choir also works in partnership with a range of national organisations including MS Society, Alzheimer’s Society and Parkinson’s UK.

Kamini Gadhok MBE, chief executive of The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists added, “We are delighted to publicly recognise the achievements of Wendy Neill and her fantastic choir.

“The judging panel were particularly inspired by Wendy’s commitment to creating an inclusive and fun activity for people with communication difficulties and their carers to join in with.”

The Giving Voice campaign, set up by the RCSLT, promotes speech and language therapist’s contribution to local and national decision makers.

You can keep up to date with news and upcoming performances from the choir by searching for them on Facebook, or by following them on Twitter at @givingvoicelds.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust have kicked off their staff flu campaign with the help of staff and players from Leeds United.

Head coach Uwe Rosler and first team players Alex Mowatt, Kalvin Phillips and Lewis Cook were joined by nurses from the trust at their Thorp Arch training complex to launch the annual campaign.

The trust is encouraging all frontline staff to have the flu jab to protect themselves, family and patients.

Liz Grogan, infection prevention and control nurse specialist at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “Quality is at the heart of our approach to care delivery at the trust, which is one of the reasons why the flu jab is offered every year to all of our front line staff. It is particularly important for staff to have the flu vaccine if they are coming into contact with patients. Flu immunisation is one of the most effective interventions we can do to reduce harm from flu and pressures on health and social care services during the winter.

“Last year Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust was identified as the second best performing community organisation nationally with regards to flu vaccine uptake (67 per-cent of frontline staff), and this year we hope to do even better.”

A special flu fighter team will be touring health centres across the city during October and November giving staff the chance to be vaccinated in their place of work.

Leeds United Head Coach Uwe Rosler said, "Leeds United are proud to support the fantastic work of the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust. It is important for the frontline staff to receive their flu jabs in order to protect themselves, their friends and their families, especially during the winter months when flu levels increase.

“We hope that by giving our backing to the campaign, the uptake is even higher this year."

Evidence from a recent study shows that in hospital units where healthcare workers were offered the flu vaccine, there were estimated to be a third fewer deaths than in units where healthcare workers were not immunised.

The trust is also part of the national NHS Flu Fighter staff vaccination campaign which supports NHS trusts with staff flu campaigns.

Designed by SAFE in partnership with LCH and Stage One Creative Services, ‘seedS’ will provide a safe environment that can be moved around the HMP Leeds site, so prisoners will have easier access to physical and mental healthcare. Introducing ‘seedS’ into prison settings will help address the lack of space available, enable more services to be offered and improve attendance at appointments.

Dawn Jessop, Head of Health and Justice Healthcare at LCH, said: “It’s very exciting that we are able to launch ‘seedS’ and we hope it will be well received by our patients who have been involved in developing it. They have chosen to name this one ‘The Bubble’. Whilst inside, patients will be able to receive physical healthcare, get advice on leading a healthier lifestyle as well as speak confidentially to mental health professionals.

“We believe the mobility of ‘seedS’ will mean we are able to reach more patients and address some of the issues that are preventing prisoners from accessing healthcare. If this pilot goes well, we hope to roll ‘seedS’ out in other areas where we provide healthcare to patients in the health and justice system.”

Development of the ‘seedS’ began in 2013 and significant work has been carried out to ensure it provides a safe and confidential environment. Features of ‘seedS’ include:

It is mobile and easy to assemble in any environment

Its smooth internal surfaces meet infection control standards

It has sound and lighting features which let healthcare workers deliver more therapeutic treatment

Its security features ensure privacy and let healthcare workers exit safely and quickly if needed

And can accommodate up to four people at once.

Karl Lenton, Creative Director at SAFE, commented: “It is great for the team at SAFE to be delivering ‘seedS’ into HMP Leeds. Embracing contemporary technology and advanced fabrication processes ‘seedS’ creates new space on prison wings that is conducive to healing, which ultimately supports reducing reoffending.

“Delivering projects in complex environments is not easy, but working closely with like minded people from LCH, National Offender Management Service, The CASS School of Art, Architecture and Design (London Metropolitan University), Stage One Creative Services and the University of Leeds enables innovation that can improve outcomes for patients.”

Deputy Governor at HMP Leeds, Simon Walters, said: “ ‘SeedS’ at HMP Leeds will provide a unique place of tranquillity and calm for both prisoners and staff in a big and bustling Victorian local jail, once again demonstrating excellent partnership work between HMP Leeds and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

“‘SeedS’ will support interactions and provide a place where health providers can talk in confidence in a secure setting which promotes decency and safety - 21st century technology being introduced in a Victorian building from 1843."

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a range of community services in Leeds for adults and children including community nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy, community dentistry, primary care mental health, smoking cessation and sexual health services. Visit www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk for more information.

Safe Innovations

Safe Innovations rethinks environments for vulnerable people. SAFE is an independent company. We work with the NHS, HM Prison, health and social care providers and patient groups to design high quality, cost effective health and wellbeing environments for offenders and vulnerable people. SAFE Innovations works with experts in multiple fields to deliver positive outcomes for individuals and communities. Special thanks for design development to Peter Shovlin.

The seedS project is the first step in our goal to redesign the penal system to make and grow safer and cohesive communities. Visit www.safeinnoff.com for more information.

Dozens of NHS employees in Leeds are in line for a pay boost after bosses voluntarily pledged to pay the living wage.

In total 87 members of staff at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will see their pay packets increase this month to meet the living wage threshold of £7.85 per hour after negotiations between managers and Unions.

Thea Stein, chief executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “We are proud to say that all staff at the trust will now receive the living wage. This decision shows our commitment to tackling the growing issue of in-work poverty, and sets a great example to other employers and organisations in the city.”

The nationally-accredited scheme, which is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK, was set up by community organisation Citizens UK in 2001, and is implemented by the Living Wage Foundation.

The wage of £7.85, suggested by the Living Wage Foundation, is over 20 per-cent higher than the compulsory National Minimum Wage, which is currently £6.50 per hour for over 21s.

Staff eligible for the pay increase have already received a letter explaining the decision and will receive the new rate of pay from this month.

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Dozens of NHS employees in Leeds are in line for a pay boost after bosses voluntarily pledged to pay the living wage.

In total 87 members of staff at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will see their pay packets increase this month to meet the living wage threshold of £7.85 per hour after negotiations between managers and Unions.

Thea Stein, chief executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust said, “We are proud to say that all staff at the trust will now receive the living wage. This decision shows our commitment to tackling the growing issue of in-work poverty, and sets a great example to other employers and organisations in the city.”

The nationally-accredited scheme, which is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK, was set up by community organisation Citizens UK in 2001, and is implemented by the Living Wage Foundation.

The wage of £7.85, suggested by the Living Wage Foundation, is over 20 per-cent higher than the compulsory National Minimum Wage, which is currently £6.50 per hour for over 21s.

Staff eligible for the pay increase have already received a letter explaining the decision and will receive the new rate of pay from this month.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust is now a participating member of the eduroam service, an international scheme which allows people visiting other participating academic sites to use their home institution’s username and password to access a range of services. As a minimum these services include access to the internet using the participating institution’s wireless network.

Eduroam (education roaming) is the secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community. Eduroam allows students, researchers and staff from participating institutions to obtain Internet connectivity across campus and when visiting other participating institutions by simply opening their laptop.

Access to the eduroam service is currently limited to use of the wireless network.

On Wednesday 1 July 2015 Leeds Sexual Health will be launched. This is a new 'integrated' Sexual Health Service designed to offer people contraception, HIV testing and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing and treatment.

If you have any questions, or are unsure of where to access services while the changes are taking place, please call the helpline on 0113 392 6725. Appointments can be made by calling 0113 392 6724.

More information about clinic opening times can be found here. Please note, the last walk in admission will be 30 minutes before the clinic closure time to allow sufficient time for patient consultations to be completed.

A new and improved version of the Leeds Sexual Health website is currently being created so watch this space!

Please keep visiting this page for further updates.

[content1] =>

On Wednesday 1 July 2015 Leeds Sexual Health will be launched. This is a new 'integrated' Sexual Health Service designed to offer people contraception, HIV testing and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing and treatment.

If you have any questions, or are unsure of where to access services while the changes are taking place, please call the helpline on 0113 392 6725. Appointments can be made by calling 0113 392 6724.

More information about clinic opening times can be found here. Please note, the last walk in admission will be 30 minutes before the clinic closure time to allow sufficient time for patient consultations to be completed.

A new and improved version of the Leeds Sexual Health website is currently being created so watch this space!

The NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) has confirmed the reappointment of Robert Lloyd and Jane Madeley as non-executive directors of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

Robert Lloyd, who is also deputy chair of the trust, was first appointed as a non-executive director in May 2011, and currently serves as deputy chair of the audit and business committees. Mr Lloyd is also the Trust’s senior independent director, a role which provides support to both the chair and board.

Jane Madeley has served as a non-executive director of the trust since November 2009 and also chairs the audit committee. A chartered accountant with experience of senior financial positions across a range of sectors, Jane is also the finance director at the University of Leeds.

Neil Franklin, chair of the trust said: “We are delighted with the reappointments of Jane and Robert, and look forward to continuing to work with them. Both bring a wealth of skills and experience to the work of the board, something which will prove to be invaluable as we continue to provide the best possible care to every community we serve.”

Mr Lloyd has been reappointed until May 2017, whilst Ms Madeley will continue in the role until March 2017. Both receive a remuneration of £6,157 per annum.

Non-executive appointments to NHS Trusts made by the NHS TDA are subject to the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

To raise awareness of the importance of looking after your teeth and maintaining a healthy mouth, the Dental team from Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will be out and about across the city promoting the campaign.

The Dental team will be at the following locations during the month long campaign giving advice and free dental hygiene products:

Kathy Fox, Dental team leader, said: “Each year the National Smile Month campaign grows bigger but it is important that we continue to spread the messages around oral health. We still need to educate many adults, as well as children, on the ways to keep your teeth and mouth healthy.”

National Smile Month promotes three key messages that everyone can follow:

Brush your teeth last thing at night and on at least one other occasion with fluoride toothpaste

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a range of community services in Leeds for adults and children including community nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy, community dentistry, primary care mental health, smoking cessation and sexual health services. Visit www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk for more information.

The Community Dental Service is a referral only service which provides NHS dental care for children and adults who have dental treatment needs which cannot be met in a general dental practice.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust has pledged to improve patient safety as part of the national campaign, ‘Sign up to Safety’.

Sign up to Safety is a national patient safety campaign to help the NHS in England build a safer NHS and address the problem of unsafe care and avoidable harm.

The trust signed up to the campaign in December 2014 and has committed to strengthen patient safety. The campaign sets out expectations for organisations and individuals in achieving the aim of reducing avoidable harm by 50 percent and saving 6,000 lives in three years.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust has pledged to:

Put safety first- commit to reducing avoidable harm in the NHS by half and make public goals and plans developed locally.

Continually learn- be more resilient to risks as an organisation, by acting on feedback from patients and constantly measuring and monitoring how safe services are.

Be honest- be transparent with people about progress to tackle patient safety issues and support staff to be candid with patients and their families if something goes wrong.

Collaborate- take a leading role in supporting local collaborative learning, so that improvements are made across all of the local services that patients use.

Be supportive- help people understand why things go wrong and how to put them right. Give staff the time and support to improve and celebrate progress.

Stonewall has named the trust the third most LGB-inclusive healthcare organisation in England.

The Healthcare Equality Index is a tool for health providers to benchmark and track their progress on equality for their lesbian, gay and bisexual patients and communities.

An awards ceremony was held at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London, where Richard Worlock, Patient Experience & Inclusion Manager at LCH attended the ceremony to collect the trust's certificate recognising our placing.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust has improved since 2014, where it was 7th in the Index. The Trust share monitoring data with staff, who are benchmarked through gold, silver and bronze ‘Involvement Standards’.

Thirty nine healthcare organisations entered the Index, including ambulance trusts, independent sector providers and social enterprise organisations. Organisations were assessed against criteria including patient policy and practice, engagement and communication with gay people, improving the health of gay patients and staff training on gay health needs.

Thea Stein, Chief Executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, said: ‘We’re delighted and proud to have improved our placing and be ranked 3rd on the Healthcare Equality Index. This latest achievement follows the good news that we have also improved our placing on the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. Both these achievements are testament to our continued commitment to ensure our patient and staff LGB needs are met.’

James Taylor, Stonewall Head of Policy, said: ‘Each year the standard in the Healthcare Equality Index increases, and so all organisations who have secured Top 10 positions should be extremely proud. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people often experience mistreatment and discrimination when they use the NHS – and all of the organisations that enter our Index are leaders in their field and demonstrate their commitment to tackling health inequalities for LGB people in England’s health service.’

The Giving Voice choir for people with neurological conditions and their carers has welcomed Kay Mellor OBE as its Patron.

Evidence** suggests that singing has a positive impact on breathing, voice and overall health and well-being. Since its launch, the choir has seen its membership grow, with people from across Yorkshire making the journey to join in. Set up by Wendy Neill, a speech and language therapist at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, it is the only choir of this kind in Leeds and surrounding areas.

Kay, said: “I am immensely proud to be the Patron of the Giving Voice Choir. The choir offers a way for those who have had neurological issues to come together, and improve their confidence whilst having fun and learning something new in the process.

"Anyone of us could find ourselves in the same situation as the members of the choir, through stroke, accident or illness. To have a facility such as Giving Voice is incredibly important and I am honoured to support them and the amazing work they do.”

Wendy Neill, who is part of the speech and swallowing team that supports people who are recovering or living with a neurological condition, said: “The choir has gone from strength to strength since we launched in June 2014 and we are all thrilled to have Kay on board as our Patron. This year we’re looking forward to doing even more performances and welcoming new members.”

Members do not need to audition or have past experience of singing in a choir, just a passion for song and enthusiasm to be part of this inclusive choir. Percussion instruments will be available for those preferring to use these as their musical vehicle.

if you would like to join the choir, email givingvoice@outlook.com or call 0113 220 8528. The group meets every Tuesday at Holy Trinity Church between 6.30pm and 8pm.

The choir is in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society, Parkinson’s UK, Carers Leeds, Multiple Sclerosis Society and Arts@Trinity.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a range of community services in Leeds for adults and children including community nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy, community dentistry, primary care mental health, smoking cessation and sexual health services. Visit www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk for more information.

Giving Voice is a national campaign that aims to demonstrate how speech and language therapy makes a difference to people with speech, language and communication needs, their families, and the wider society. For more information about the campaign, visitwww.givingvoiceuk.org

All about that paste...

To encourage children and young people to look after their teeth, the Community Dental team have created 'All about that paste'.

This engaging short film shares messages on how to brush, how much toothpaste to use, flossing and general oral hygiene. The Community Dental team work with many schools across Leeds, educating young people about looking after their teeth to make sure they have a nice healthy smile that continues in to adulthood.

Enjoy watching and please share this film to encourage everyone to look after their teeth. For more information about the Community Dental team, click here.

New service to help victims and survivors of sexual offences launches 1 April 2015

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will be delivering the Sexual Assault Referral Centre service for West Yorkshire. From 1 April 2015 we will be providing the service for West Yorkshire Police until 31 March 2016.

The service provides healthcare advice and support for people who have experienced sexual assault and violence. The team will assess and collect forensic evidence and provide after care working in close liaison with staff from West Yorkshire Police.

Pupils from Gledhow Primary School have been helping the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Stop Smoking Service to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking ahead of No Smoking Day on Wednesday 11 March.

Stop Smoking Advisor, Maree Diamond, spoke to the young people and invited them to take part in a competition to design posters encouraging people to access the service and get help to stop smoking. The winning designs will be displayed in health centre across Leeds.

Speaking about the reason the team wanted to involve the young people, Maree said: “It’s important to have the opportunity to engage with young people about the effects smoking can have on them and people around them. We hope by giving them the facts now, it will prevent them from smoking in the future. Hopefully, they share the information we have given them with their family and friends to discourage them from smoking or be aware of the free treatment and help that is available from our service.”

Research shows that you are far more likely to be successful in stopping smoking if you combine both treatment and specialist help from an NHS Stop Smoking Service than attempting to quit on your own. On No Smoking Day, the Stop Smoking team will be at Kirkgate Market in Leeds city centre to talk to people about the support the service offers and sign them up for a treatment programme instantly. The team will be at the Zest For Life stall between 9am and 4.30pm.

Clinics are run throughout the week at locations across the city. To contact the team for help, people can text SMOKEFREE TO 60066, telephone 0800 169 4219 or emailstopsmokingleeds@nhs.net

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a range of community services in Leeds for adults and children including community nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy, community dentistry, primary care mental health, smoking cessation and sexual health services. Visit www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk for more information.

Giving Voice, a choir for adults with neurological conditions and their carers set up by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will be entertaining shoppers at White Rose Shopping Centre on Saturday 28 February.

The choir will impress shoppers with a range of songs from the decades and be joined by partnership organisations, Alzheimer’s Society, Parkinson’s UK, Carer Leeds, Multiple Sclerosis Society and Arts@Trinity. There will be two performances during the day, at 11.30am and 2pm.

The choir, which was founded nine months ago, has been busy learning new songs as well as practising old favourites. Wendy Neill, speech and language therapist at the trust’s Speech and Swallowing Service who set up the choir, said: “ It is great to see the progress members make and the positive impact the choir has on their lives, all the members are excited and looking forward to performing our new songs to the public.

“ Songbooks will be provided so the audience can sing-a-long with the choir. The day will provide a great opportunity to showcase the choir to a wider audience, hopefully attract new members and a great opportunity to work together with our partner organisations.”

The group, which is free to attend, meets every week between 6.30pm and 8pm at Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane, Leeds. For further information, emailgivingvoice@outlook.com or call 0113 220 8528.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a range of community services in Leeds for adults and children including community nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy, community dentistry, primary care mental health, smoking cessation and sexual health services. Visit www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk for more information.

Giving Voice is a national campaign that aims to demonstrate how speech and language therapy makes a difference to people with speech, language and communication needs, their families, and the wider society. For more information about the campaign, visitwww.givingvoice.org.

Chief Executive of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Thea Stein, welcomes the people of Leeds to meet with her on Tuesday 17 February.

Thea began her role with the trust four months ago. This event gives her the opportunity to gather ideas from members and the general public on how the trust can develop its services to ensure communities across Leeds are provided with the best possible healthcare.

Two sessions will run on Tuesday 17 February. Between 1pm and 2pm, Thea will be at Armley Moor Health Centre* followed by a session from 5pm to 6pm in Headingley*.If you would like to attend, please contact the Engagement and Involvement team on lchmembership@nhs.net or 0113 220 8551.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a range of community services in Leeds for adults and children including community nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy, community dentistry, primary care mental health, smoking cessation and sexual health services. Visit www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk for more information.

In the future health visitors and community nursery nurses will work closely with practitioners from children's centres, private nurseries and child minders to get a complete picture of a child’s health and development.

The trust took part in a national pilot of the scheme*, working in partnership with Leeds City Council. This joint way of working is currently being embedded across the city with the goal of it being fully implemented by September 2015. The roll out of these two initiatives together is ensuring that services intervene as early as possible to secure the best outcomes for children and families.Currently, children aged 2–2 ½ years are reviewed by health visitors and early years practitioners separately. Going forward, there will be only one review and both parties will meet with families at the same time to jointly help them get a better understanding of their child’s health and learning needs.

Lynn Inglis, Health Visiting Clinical Lead, said: “Children aged 2 are going through an important developmental stage in their life. This new approach of combining both reviews will give parents a fuller picture of how well their child is developing across a range of areas which include: speech and language, behaviour, learning, physical health and personal, social and emotional development.

“Bringing together the two reviews also allows parents the opportunity to discuss any concerns with health and education at the same time and be assured that we are working together in their child’s best interest. It is also less daunting for the child as the review is held at their early years setting. For those children not attending an early years setting they will still receive the same level of service as they currently receive under the Healthy Child Programme 2–2 ½ year review.”

Councillor Judith Blake, deputy leader of Leeds City Council and executive member for children and families, said: “In Leeds, all agencies responsible for the health, wellbeing and education of children work closely together to ensure that children in the city have the best start in life - giving them the best opportunity to progress and achieve well throughout their childhood. This new approach will mean that services from all agencies have the opportunity to intervene earlier to ensure the best outcomes for children and their families.”

Leah Johnstone, parent, said: “I thought it was really good. I got to learn about what Lacey does and how she is coming along. Also, they gave me ideas about what to do with her at home to support her learning. I was also given a report about Lacey’s development at nursery which was very informative.”

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a range of community services in Leeds for adults and children including community nursing, health visiting, physiotherapy, community dentistry, primary care mental health, smoking cessation and sexual health services. Visit www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk for more information.

Birthday celebrations for the Giving Voice Choir

24th June 2015

Giving Voice, a choir for adults with neurological conditions and their carers set up by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust (LCH) celebrated their first birthday on Tuesday 23 June with a fantastic event at Holy Trinity Church.

Exciting changes to Sexual Health Services in Leeds are on their way

02nd June 2015

On Wednesday 1 July 2015 Leeds Sexual Health will be launched. This is a new 'integrated' Sexual Health Service designed to offer people contraception, HIV testing and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing and treatment.

Leeds dental team to give advice for National Smile Month

11th May 2015

To raise awareness of the importance of looking after your teeth and maintaining a healthy mouth, the Dental team from Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will be out and about across the city promoting the National Smile Month campaign.

New service for victims and survivors of sexual offences

Children help to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking

03rd March 2015

Pupils from Gledhow Primary School have been helping the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Stop Smoking Service to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking ahead of No Smoking Day on Wednesday 11 March.

Healthy choir to strike a chord at White Rose Shopping Centre

23rd February 2015

Giving Voice, a choir for adults with neurological conditions and their carers set up by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust will be entertaining shoppers at White Rose Shopping Centre on Saturday 28 February.

Invitation for members to meet Thea

Health and early year’s practitioners work side by side to improve outcomes for children

11th February 2015

In the future health visitors and community nursery nurses will work closely with practitioners from children's centres, private nurseries and child minders to get a complete picture of a child’s health and development.

Police custody healthcare double contract win

29th January 2015

The trust has been awarded contracts to deliver healthcare services in police custody suites across North Yorkshire and Humberside. This follows the awarding of contracts in West and South Yorkshire in 2014.